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Florian
: “''There's nobody like him...anywhere at all.” : ―Snow White, referring to the Prince '''The Prince' is the romantic interest of the titular character in Disney's 1937 animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Originally planned to be the deuteragonist, it was ultimately decided that he would appear only twice in the film; at the beginning and the end (this was because he was the hardest character in the film to animate). Background Development The Prince was the first 'realistic' human male that the Disney animators attempted to bring to life. It was found that the Prince was the hardest of all characters to animate. For this reason, his role in the film was minor; he only makes two appearances in the film. The character was mostly rotoscoped from Lewis Hightower's live-action performance. The Prince was partly animated by Milt Kahl, who would later be given similarly difficult tasks in the animation of Prince Charming in Cinderella and Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty. Abandoned Concepts Imprisoned by the Queen It was originally planned that, jealous of the Prince's affections for Snow White, the Queen would have him brought to her, and she would have him locked in her dungeon. As the Witch, she would have made the skeletons in the dungeon get up and dance. She would have left the Prince in the dungeon, and he was to escape in the manner of Errol Flynn, enabling him to reach Snow White and break the spell. After escaping, the forest animals were to tell him where to go; however, only the horse was to understand, however, causing the Prince to take the long route and arrive too late to save Snow White. The idea was abandoned when it was realized how difficult it was to animate the Prince convincingly, and the character only appeared when he needed to further the story, which centered primarily around the relationship between Snow White and the Queen. However, comics released to promote the film include such scenes; the Witch locks up the Prince and tells him what her plans are for Snow White, telling him that she will win his affections, while the Prince is defiant. Later, as the animators became more experienced at animating human characters, a similar concept was used in Sleeping Beauty, in which Maleficent has Prince Phillip captured and taken to the Forbidden Mountains, where she shows him visions of the future she has planned for him. Alternate Version of "Some Day My Prince Will Come" Sketches were made for the sequence in which Snow White sings "Some Day My Prince Will Come" depicting Snow White and the Prince dancing in the clouds, while small, star-like creatures cavort around them. However, the idea was reused, to an extent, in Sleeping Beauty, in which Prince Phillip and Aurora dance together; their surroundings transform into clouds, presumably to reflect their happiness together. Appearances Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Evil Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty, forces her to work as a servant in her castle. As Snow White works, she sings I'm Wishing, attracting the attention of Prince Florian, who's passing by on his horse. As she sings into the well, performing a duet with her echo, she's startled as Florian suddenly joins in. She runs into the castle, and watches as he sings One Song. The two fall madly in love with each other. Watching from above is the Queen, who angrily closes the curtains of her window in jealousy. When the Queen arrives, disguised as the Witch, to poison Snow White, she, knowing of the romance between the girl and the Prince, fools her into believing that the Poisoned Apple is a magic wishing apple, capable of making her greatest desire a reality. Snow White wishes to live with the Prince and, taking a bite, falls to the floor, taken by the Sleeping Death. Though the seven dwarfs succeed in chasing the Witch to her doom, Snow White remains uncured; the dwarfs place her in a glass coffin and take her to a clearing in the forest. The Prince hears of this and comes to the clearing. After singing One Song again, he kisses her on the lips and breaks the curse on her as she is revived. He takes her in his arms and puts her on his horse; after saying farewell to the dwarfs, the two ride into the sunset to his castle (the image of which is shown in the clouds above), where they live happily ever after. Trivia * In the comic version by Hank Porter when the prince surprises Snow White it is from behind a dummy she made. When she asks who he is and where did he come from; he responds, "Where I came from doesn't matter! The only thing that does matter is that I am here. As for my name, I like the one you gave me―Prince Buckethead―though perhaps it is more honest than flattering." This embarrasses Snow White since she did not know he was hiding behind the dummy she named "Prince Buckethead".1 * At the 1938 Oscars, Shirley Temple mentions the name "Ferdinand" among others while presenting Walt Disney his awards. Many have interpreted that she was referring to the Prince, saying that Ferdinand is his name. However, she was not referring to the Prince, but rather to Ferdinand the Bull. As confirmed by Dave Smith, Historian of the Walt Disney Studio Archives, the Prince was never given a name in the film and "Ferdinand" has never been used as one by the company. Despite this, many Disney fans still believe that the Prince's name is Ferdinand.2 ** Disney Latino revealed through a video of Top 10 Romantic Moments the name of the prince is "Fernando" Spanish translation of the name Fernidand. ** Disney France once revealed in a TV-spot that his real name is Florian. That same TV-spot also revealed that Prince Charming's real name is Henry (or "Henri," as it would be in French). *** The name "Florian" originates from this article. It was allegedly used by Disney when it started theDisney Princess franchise. * There's a story that there are artwork and documents in the Walt Disney Studio Archives that call the Prince "Frederick".3 * The Enchanted Stables collection reveals his white horse is a mare named "Astor".4 This is reconfirmed the Disney Princess book "Special Horses." * The Prince is the first of the Disney Princes to sing to his respective love interest, the others being Prince Phillipfrom Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin. * He is the only Disney Prince to be a "minor character" due to his little screen time, yet he's mentioned many times in the film by Snow White when not appearing and unlike most characters with little screen time, he is recognized by Disney Fans. * He is the only Disney Prince to serenade his love interest. * Though he is the first Disney Prince, he has the smallest amount of screen time of all the Disney Princes, only appearing briefly at both the beginning and the end. * The voice of the Prince, Harry Stockwell, is the father of Academy Award nominated actor Dean Stockwell. * The Prince is only Disney Prince that does not deal with the film's antagonist at all. All other Disney Princes come in contact with the antagonists. The exception to this would be Prince Charming (Cinderella's Prince), for though he did not deal with Lady Tremaine in the original, he helps defeat her in the second sequel. * The Prince is the first who revives his love interest with a true love's first kiss. The second is Philip by defeating Maleficent and kisses Auora and she comes back to life. * Disney sometimes markets the Prince as Prince Florian for Disney on Ice.5 * While the Prince has a dagger, he never uses it. * The Prince was intended to be a prominent character, but the difficulty found in animating him forced Walt to reduce his part significantly.